Wakeboarding with a dinghy

[Olly75]

Im thinking about adding a wakeboard to the toy supply, not necessarily to get into doing tricks (as I understand the wake will be too small), but as a way to have some fun when exploring/snorkelling etc.

The main question is does anyone have an idea if a 15hp outboard on a 3.1m dinghy will have the guts to pull a wakeboarder? Im assuming that with one driving it would be fine, but how about two or even three bodies in the dinghy?

[slug]

Best to wakeboard from the yacht

Use mainhalyard with two boat length extension ..motor or sail at 6 knots

The main halyard angle to wakeboarder gives tremendous wave jumping ability

[Dennis.G]

Don't think it's going to work with a regular wakeboard with a 15 hp, will never get the rider out of the water. Maybe with a small surfboard. For sure with a SUP but not sure how much fun that would be. A kneeboard might be a better bet than a wakeboard.

[Olly75]

Hmm wakeboarding off the yacht seems ridiculous, then I googled it... The added bonus is while learning there will be loads of opportunities to practice man over board drills

hadnt thought of using the SUP, it would be more surfing but could work, and have never heard of a kneeboard....

[Imagineou812]

https://youtu.be/SIF3PyPdQkM

Check this video out !!! I don't think it is much more than a 15 horse O/B pulling her !

After a second look I now see that it's a 40 horse O/B but Think you could do it with a 15 or 20 hp

[a64pilot]

A 15 will do it with one smallish person in the dinghy pulling a smallish person on the board, if it’s propped correctly, you will need a lower pitch prop to make it work well. Very often people don’t need a bigger motor, they just need the correct prop, what comes with the motor is a best guess.
I have a 10” for when we have three or four on board and an 11” for the rest of the time. With just two of is it will hit the rev limiter, but with the 11” prop it will not plane with three or four.
But your not doing it with two 250 lb men.

30 yrs ago Iused to pull skiers behind my Jetski, it was a “real” Jetski, not these little boats you see now, I could even pull a slalom if he got up on two and dropped a ski.
However a good person on a slalom could pull me over too, they could literally pull the stern of the Jetski out of the water and pull it sideways, and then you both fall.

[bcboomer]

In BC it's illegal if you don't have a spotter in the towing boat and room in the boat for the wake-boarder.

[Avionics_Joe]

This is why I got the Suzuki 25 HP!
Workes great, even with two in the dink.
The 15 HP Merk 2 stroke would not pull me up (180 pounds) even with only one person in the dink, and the Suzuki 25 burns half the fuel of the 15 HP Merk 2 stroke.

[SteveSadler]

Surfboards are way more fun behind a dingy than wakeboards, but you need a bigger wakeboard to get someone up planing, especially if more than one in the dink.
Try a 5'6" kite surfboard, with straps. Straps make it way easy to get up, and you can get air too! Another cool toy is a hydrofoil. You can get towed into open ocean swells and ride forever without being towed.

[xbillaroo]

We wakeboard easily with 20hp 2stroke and 11 foot dinghy . To do deep water starts with one ski . Start with the tow line taunt and about 80 degree angle. Circle the skier getting the dinghy planing and slowly straighten up popping the skier out of the water. It is much easier to get a wakeboarder up. My son is 6’3” and 100kilos but a skilful skier and it handles him. The scary part is when he starts doing tight cuts and jumps as he yanks the back of the dinghy around.

[wathey]

A couple of comments about what the factors are to your question. Short answer a 25hp and at least a 12' dinghy.

- rider weight
The larger a rider the more power needed. My 8 yr old can WB behind an 8' with a 9.9 no problem, he weighs 55lbs. I am 205lbs and the smallest I have attempted and was able to ride behind is a 15hp and it requires unique dinghy/wakeboard skill which is the second point

- rider skill
An experienced rider understands the dynamics of both the board and the dinghy getting onto plane. You can 'time' the launch of the dinghy and pop up quickly with an underpowered outboard. It takes skill and understanding of thrust sharing between the two hulls your trying to plane simultaneously but can happen.

- optimize the dinghy
The little mini tower on the back helps. It changes the angle of the pull which lifts the rider slightly rather than dragging the rider during launch which promotes quicker time for the board to plane. Second, put a long fuel supply line on a larger tank and secure to the nose. This gets the dinghy on plane quicker which is allows for more thrust for the rider to get onto plane. In all scenarios the driver should sit as far forward as possible to promote the dinghy on plane quickly.

short of it is: Less experienced, larger riders = much bigger tow boat. Smaller, experienced riders who are willing to learn the dinghy nuances no problem. Check out Sailing Delos on youtube they wakeboard a lot behind their 25hp. I have met them in person, not small guys so again you can learn your dinghy but don't expect guests on the boat for the weekend to figure it out. I would learn to Kiteboard if I were you, same fun, always wind in the trades and an optimal experience instead of a limited one and doesn't kill gas.

[Olly75]

Thank you for all the responses.

I cant justify trying to upgrade either the dinghy or outboard, to be honest its just too much expense for a luxuary sport and the same goes for kitesurfing (that and the space needed on the boat to store all the gear....)

I have towed people on the SUP, which is entertaining and gave me the idea for wakeboarding in the first place, so will probs just stick with that!

@a64pilot, I'm looking at getting a new prop anyway for two reasons firstly I banged up my existing one a while ago but also when we are diving it can get a little sluggish with the extra weight. If a lower pitched prop will hit the limiter when the dinghy is light (just two or even one person), can I just not run it at lower revs to get the same speed?

[valhalla360]

Not a skilled activity like wake bording but tubing can be fun and you don't have to worry about popping them out of the water.